The 4 best takeaways and a book review of Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work That Lasts by Ryan Holiday–plus a free downloadable PDF art print to inspire you to become a perennial seller!
“That book has taken on a life of its own.”
I blinked at this—what did that mean? It was 2009, and I was working at a Big 5 publisher in New York. I had asked one of the senior editors about a backlist book that was still selling and selling, even after 10 years.
The book was a perennial seller for the publishing house. It had built momentous word-of-mouth and now needed almost no help from the author or publisher to keep it selling steadily. You can recognize these books because they wave you down with numbers: “2 million copies sold,” “now published in 15 countries!”
What I wanted to know was exactly how that book had become a perennial bestseller. Was it the author’s platform? Was it the idea? Had they marketed the heck out of it?